


Without a doubt

by MrsHoot_Hoot26



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Don't question it, Drama & Romance, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Mattsun and Makki being weird, Mentions of Bokuto - Freeform, Mentions of Sakusa - Freeform, Multi, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, mentions of hinata - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:26:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29722758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsHoot_Hoot26/pseuds/MrsHoot_Hoot26
Summary: Soulmate AU in which couples can choose to take a test to see if they are soulmates after exactly one year of dating. After a small ritual, they can choose themselves where the marks will appear and it usually takes 3 hours for this to happen.Throughout the years, Oikawa and Iwaizumi have been through a lot together. Now, their one-year anniversary comes around and they have to decide if they are going to take the soulmate-test or not.
Relationships: Hanamaki Takahiro/Matsukawa Issei, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kindaichi Yuutarou/Kunimi Akira
Comments: 1
Kudos: 42





	Without a doubt

_Once upon a time, there were two childhood friends who literally did everything together. One, handsome and strong, who always took care of the both of them. The other, probably the most handsome creature in the world, always managed to find a way to make them smile. They had been together for the most part of their lives, side by side fighting the forces that wanted to drive them apart, and even though it had not been easy, their faith in each other had never shattered, because the trust between them was simply something that could not be outmatched. They both believed it was the strongest power to exist and thus, they had never feared that they would be forced to succumb to the evil. They belonged together and it was this belief that gave them the faith to keep fighting._

_Little did they know, perhaps their worst ordeal had yet to come…_

Oikawa had always believed that fairy tales were real. As a child, he had been obsessed with Disney and he had been desperately waiting for his own story to start. It even had taken his parents six whole years to convince him he was not some magical creature being tested in the human world.

Still, he had never stopped believing.

Once he started to become older, he realised that magic was something way more subtle. Instead of looking for fairies in the highest branches of this big tree in his backyard or between the lilies on the water, Oikawa came to the conclusion that every ordinary human could see it if only they took the time to take a step back and observe. Magic was literally everywhere. It could be found in the breeze that fixed his hair on a day that he was not able to fix his bedhead, in the sunlight that made his skin tinkle, in the words that had the power to form tears in his eyes or even just in a simple smile.

Moreover, it had been long after he’d given up the hope of being rescued by a handsome prince, that he understood that in his story, he himself could easily be the rescuer instead. When his feelings towards Iwaizumi had started changing to something more romantic, he had never questioned that his friend felt the same. Nevertheless, it had taken Iwaizumi much more effort to accept the fact that he was indeed in love with his best friend. His family was strict. They had often tried to inform how it was going with the search for a girl and that’s why their friendship had suffered badly when Oikawa had confessed to him.

To Oikawa’s absolute fear, Iwaizumi had pushed him away and had turned down every attempt to even talk. Weeks had gone by without one form of interaction between them and that time really crushed Oikawa. Despite him knowing that it must have been worse for Iwaizumi, he couldn’t find the motivation to hang on anymore. His grades slipped, his sleeping schedule was messed up and every volleyball training was straight-up torture. Looking back at that now, Oikawa could still feel the scar of his pain during that hell. He didn’t know if that would ever heal completely.

Be that as it may, it turned out that Iwaizumi was not able to keep ignoring him forever. When Oikawa had fallen asleep in the canteen during their break time, he’d sat down with him and had patiently waited for him to wake up. The moment the bell announced that their lessons would start soon, Iwaizumi had woken him up and had told a completely confused Oikawa that he would be back tomorrow.

That had been the start of their recovery. Never had Oikawa regretted his decision to confess, but still he found it incredibly hard to move forward. Iwaizumi had hurt him and it had taken him a good while before he finally fully trusted him again. It had been the hardest thing he had gone through in his life.

Now, almost a year later, they were happier than they had ever been. Despite Iwaizumi having to cut the contacts with his family, Oikawa had always made sure that he was there when Iwaizumi needed him. They had gone through that hell together and his Iwa-chan had slowly started to come to terms with it. He often reassured Oikawa that, if they could go back to that moment they intertwined their fingers in the sight of his parents, he would have done exactly the same. He was not ashamed of his feelings anymore and even though he was not good with words, his actions were enough to prove that he loved him with all his heart. Oikawa truly couldn’t have wished for more.

‘Oi,’ Iwaizumi said, walking into the room as Oikawa was just about to get the kettle of the stove. He nodded when Oikawa gestured if he wanted some tea as well. ‘You know what day tomorrow is right?’

Oikawa smiled widely while pouring the hot boiling water in two mugs. He placed the one with _‘sexy mother fucker’_ in front of Iwaizumi and took the one with ‘ _In a world full of cunts, you’re my favourite one_ ’ for himself. They had been part of their tradition for a while now. At some point they had started competing for who could find the ugliest mug, so every time they would stumble upon one that was definitely worse than the mugs already in their cupboard, they would get it. Since these two were quite old, the were amongst the most decent mugs they owned.

‘Of course, my Iwa-chan. Tomorrow is the day I’m finally making my come back and my beauty will be captured so that it can be seen by people many years from now.’

‘Oikawa,’ Iwaizumi grumbled, at which Oikawa happily clambered onto on of the high chairs at their big table.

‘No, it’s true! Tomorrow I have an interview for Dig, you know that volleyball magazine, and I’m sure my article will fill up the whole page.’

‘Good for you, but you know that is not what I mean.’ Iwaizumi shyly stared at his finger, which was tracking on of the lines on their table. Since he didn’t even look him in the eye, Oikawa knew he was nervous as hell. Usually, Iwaizumi was unbelievably composed, but whenever he was stressed, he suddenly was that small boy from the past again. His uncomfortable expression was one of the few things that actually proved that that boy and the one sitting in front of him, were actually the same person. He didn’t get to see this version that often anymore, but Oikawa was quite familiar with it.

‘Aw, Iwa-chan, I never thought you were someone who values anniversaries so much. You’re so romantic. Now that you remembered, I do expect something really special. Last minute preparations won’t do, you hear?’

‘Oikawa, please, don’t act like you do not care. We have to talk about the test.’

Oikawa chortled, which made Iwaizumi look up in confusion.

‘What?’

‘You,’ Oikawa grinned. ‘Of course we have to talk about the test, but just say that right away. It will make the torture end earlier. Though I have to admit, it is quite fun to see you struggle with your words.’

‘You’re a piece of crap,’ Iwaizumi said, after which he crossed his arms and looked at him with a serious face. It was the same face that he had made when they had watched the finals between Shiratorizawa and Karasuno together, like he was analysing every little detail and he tried to prevent any information slipping through his fingers.

Oikawa couldn’t help but be slightly distracted by the incredibly seductive look in his eyes.

‘You’re so pretty,’ he sighed and immediately, he noticed that Iwaizumi started blushing. After all those months, he clearly hadn’t gotten used to being called beautiful.

‘But seriously, though. Do _you_ want to take the test? Tomorrow is the only chance we get.’

Oikawa chuckled and he took a sip of his tea. Then he looked up again and he had to fight every urge to not pinch the cheeks of that big grump in front of him.

‘With that look in your eyes, you’re making me believe that you’ll just take my blood by force, Iwa-chan.’

‘Don’t be stupid. I’ll never force you to give me anything.’

‘Except for my virginity that is.’

‘OIKAWA.’

For a moment it seemed like Iwaizumi was going to start yelling, but within a second, he swallowed his words and he got up. Without having touched his tea, he started walking towards the stairs.

‘Forget it. I don’t need a stupid mark to tell me you’re an annoying brat.’

Quickly, Oikawa got up and he ran after him to keep him from leaving. Luckily, Iwaizumi hadn’t anticipated being chased, so Oikawa was able to reach him in time and with his arms embracing Iwaizumi’s chest, he forced him to stop. Though his plan backfired a little since they lost their balance because of his enthusiasm, and both of them fell sidewards on the couch.

With Oikawa on top of him, Iwaizumi was barely able to move.

‘You idiot, what the hell. Get off me.’ He sounded muffled, since he was practically talking to Oikawa’s nipples.

However, Oikawa didn’t move and with his free hand, he started stroking through Iwaizumi’s spikey hair.

‘Aw, Iwa-chan, I don’t think a test has to decide if you’re my soulmate or not. I love you with all my heart and I just know that you’re the one for me.’

‘Oikawa, get off.’

‘But,’ Oikawa continued. ‘if you really want it, I’m not going to be in your way. If it makes you happy, I’m more than willing to give you my blood and then you can see that all your nerves are completely pointless.’

It was silent for a few seconds and Iwaizumi lay completely still under him. If he hadn’t heard his breathing loud and clear, Oikawa might have thought that he had been pinching off some important vein, but this was Iwaizumi they were talking about. He was the strongest person Oikawa had ever met, and thus he wasn’t surprised when he suddenly felt his strong hands around his middle.

He got lifted in the air and through some very smooth movements that he couldn’t actually describe, they ended up changing positions. Now Iwaizumi was laying on top of Oikawa and he had a surprised look in his eyes.

‘Really?’ he said confused. ‘You would do that for me?’

‘Of course,’ Oikawa said, quickly planting a kiss on his nose. ‘It’s not like it’s pregnancy test, Iwa-chan. We’ll be fine.’

‘Yeah, but you have to give blood an all.’

‘Five drops, Iwa-chan, five drops! I don’t think I’ll die from that.’

Oikawa laughed, after which Iwaizumi, at long last, smiled as well. He ruffled through Oikawa’s hair, then made sure that there were no small plucks poking in his eye, and sighed.

‘Look who’s all grown up now. Never thought I’d hear you say that, especially when you cried over a broken nail last week.’

‘You hurt my feelings, Iwa-chan.’ But Oikawa pulled him closer and let himself be crushed by his muscly weight. He truly loved moments like these, moments it was just the two of them without any worries. Iwa-chan’s warmth could be choking him and he still wouldn’t let go. Maybe doing the test wasn’t even such a bad idea. Once he had Iwaizumi’s name tattooed on his skin, the whole world would be able to see that they belonged together. Maybe it would even be enough to convince Iwa’s family that this wasn’t just some fluke. If they knew how much they loved each other, perhaps they could find it in their hearts to look past the fact that this wasn’t just a normal relationship.

Oikawa really hated being called ordinary, but it if meant that Iwa-chan could finally heal his relationship with his parents, he would be able to hear it every day. He would do everything for his soulmate, because he knew Iwaizumi would do exactly the same for him.

He had to admit, he was in pretty deep.

* * *

The next day already started off quite special. Oikawa did his interview with a journalist from the Dig, who was a very nice lady that completely understood him for only wanting pictures taken of his good side. She let him pose in various stances, complemented him on how photogenetic he was, and asked him interesting questions without losing her head to much in her enthusiasm. They had a really nice and casual conversation, after which he was surprised that they had run out of time so soon.

On his way home, he ran into some of his former underclassmen and together they went to the mall so they could help him find something nice for Iwa-chan tonight. They visited all kinds of shops, some plain, others a bit weird, and he had a lot of trouble in finding the right present. That’s why his wingmen definitely proved their worth and eventually he settled on a pair of boxers with an Oikawa-print on them, a mug that kind of resembled a Spongebob with enormous teeth who hadn’t slept in days –Kindaichi had looked like he had wanted to slam the thing in pieces right there- and a box of Iwaizumi’s favourite sour candy.

With the presents done, they had gone to get some ice cream together and Kunimi, but mostly Kindaichi, had told him everything about their lives after high school. Oikawa was glad to hear that they were both doing well and of course, he had been very nosey about how they had started dating a few weeks a go. He wanted all the deets and Kindaichi still being Kindaichi, he had gotten much more.

It had been a very amusing afternoon and Oikawa couldn’t believe it was only going to get better and better. This probably could go down in his diary as the happiest day of his life, after the day he had gotten together with Iwa-chan of course. That day itself in general had been nothing special, but literally nothing could surpass his happiness at the moment that Iwaizumi had told him that he felt the same and really wanted to try it out between them. Oikawa had never asked him to choose between him and his family and that’s perhaps why he felt extra special when Iwaizumi had come to that decision on his own. He was definitely not going to make him regret that.

Ever.

‘I’M HOME,’ he yelled while he kicked off his shoes without accidentally hitting his bags against the wall or dropping them on the floor. He heard some stumbling from the living room and a pair of white socks were the first thing that he could see from the corner of his eyes.

‘Hi, honey,’ Iwaizumi said and even though Oikawa was still struggling with one of his shoes (why did they have so many shoelaces?) he embraced him tightly. ‘Happy anniversary.’

‘Happy anniversary.’

Leaving his shoe for what it was, Oikawa carefully manoeuvred his bags on the floor without giving Iwaizumi a chance to break the kiss that was planted in his neck and he turned around. Now that he had nothing else to think about, he was fully able to surrender to the arms that were pulling him closer. He could feel a chill going down his spine when Iwaizumi’s cold hands accidentally touched the warm skin on his back.

‘Cold,’ he muffled between their kisses and he could feel Iwaizumi smile.

‘Not my fault that you’re just too hot.’

And Oikawa gasped for air when Iwaizumi pushed his hands even further up his back. His strength wasn’t fair. When Iwaizumi had his mind set on something, either in expressing his love or hate, there was literally nothing Oikawa could do. He was forced to feel the cold skin against his own with only his own passion for this man to distract him.

He truly was kissing like it was the last time that he could and it felt amazing. A year later, Oikawa couldn’t understand how he could have ever been so shy and careful. If he had know back then what kind of heat was burning between them now, he never would have believed it. Iwaizumi was just absolutely freaking perfect.

‘Iwa-chan?’

‘What?’

‘Can you please help me with my shoe. It hates me.’

‘And hating it back doesn’t help?’

‘Sadly, no.’

It was Iwaizumi who first pulled away and he looked at Oikawa with a disappointed face. Keeping up his play, Oikawa started pouting, until Iwaizumi finally gave up and bowed down. Instead of working on the knot of shoelaces, however, he picked Oikawa up and with his boyfriends body on his shoulder, he quickly walked over to the living room. There, he threw Oikawa on the couch, so his feet were still in the air and while the latter had burst out into laughter, he took the foot with the stubborn shoe.

‘You’re absolutely crazy,’ Oikawa said between his hiccups from laughter.

Iwaizumi just worked on untying his shoe, but he grinned as well and once he had finally managed to free Oikawa’s foot, he threw the shoe towards the hall. After that, he let himself fall backwards on the couch as well, so their noses were almost touching now.

His eyes were so incredible. How was it even possible for something so pure and beautiful to exist? Many times before had Oikawa looked in these eyes and he still got mesmerised every time he studied them. They were the gates to a whole other world.

At times when Iwaizumi’s whole body would tell him to go away, it was his eyes that betrayed his true desire and made him stay. Because on the inside, shielded by a thick wall, the little boy that was too afraid to show his joy, his caring, kept asking for someone to love him. It was not often that Iwaizumi showed this side of him, but Oikawa knew it was there, since it revealed itself in the small things. Making him promise to get back in time, the silence when Oikawa had only made breakfast for himself and in the desire to be the little spoon sometimes.

It broke his heart to think about it and it probably would for a long time, but it had made Oikawa fall in love even more. He wanted to take care of him, all of him, and he wanted to love him forever. He had been privileged in seeing this vulnerable side of Iwaizumi and he was not going to let that go to waste.

‘I love you, Iwa-chan,’ he whispered and Iwaizumi moved himself a bit closer, so he could take Oikawa in his arms.

While softly stroking his chin with his nose, Oikawa searched for the hands that he was so immensely thankful for and he let himself be pulled into a cuddle. He slowly started to relax by the touch and after a deep, peaceful sigh, he closed is eyes.

Iwaizumi was his home.

* * *

They had stayed like this for at least an hour. Without talking, they’d listened to the sound of the rain outside and occasionally a car passing by. Oikawa had gotten completely lost in the sound of Iwaizumi’s heartbeat so close to his own and if it had been up to him, they could have stayed like this even longer.

However, at some point they had started to get hungry and there were also still the presents that had to be unwrapped. In his own enthusiasm, Oikawa had hopped towards the hall and with his bags in his hand, he had followed Iwaizumi to the kitchen.

His boyfriend had acted quite surprised at the sight of the boxers and he immediately refused Oikawa’s suggestion to try them on right away, but he had laughed very loud when he opened the box with the mug. It was by far the ugliest thing they had managed to find until now and Iwaizumi admitted that it was going to be hard to beat this. Though, Oikawa had not been focused on their silly competition. He was happy and he felt invincible. With Iwaizumi at his side, nothing else mattered anymore and it was probably this anniversary that made him realise this even more.

Iwaizumi had tried his best as well to make this evening special. He had cooked a romantic dinner for them with lots of candles, after which they played three rounds of Twister, Oikawa’s favourite game as a child, and roasted marshmallows at the fire place. Oikawa loved every minute of it. It was the perfect balance between the past and present and it was the perfect occasion for the both of them to take in how long they had known each other already. The last time they had played Twister together was at least fifteen years ago. Since Oikawa had been very skilled and Iwaizumi had literally twisted his wrist, the latter had always refused to play another game, until Oikawa had finally given up. There were other ways to beat Iwaizumi, so it had not been that great of a loss.

He really appreciated Iwaizumi going to the store to buy the game for this evening.

Although, the closer they came to midnight, the more distracted they became, especially Iwaizumi. They were watching his favourite movie, but he kept looking at the clock, probably hoping that time would either stand still completely, or hurry up and make it 12 o’clock already. Waiting was perhaps the worst form of torture.

At five minutes before midnight, he paused the movie and took Oikawa’s hand. They looked at each other for a few seconds before he spoke up.

‘You sure you want to do this?’

‘Iwa-chan,’ Oikawa said with a faint smile; his own nerves not even that present. ‘I told you, if it makes you happy, I’ll do everything.’

Silently, Iwaizumi nodded. However, he still had a worried look in his eyes and Oikawa was out of words to try and convince him that all his worries were in vein. They belonged together and there was no way he didn’t see that after a year of dating. They did everything together. If they still had been at Aoba Johsai, they would have been crowned ‘Power Couple of the Year’ for sure. Not that something like that existed, but Oikawa liked to dream.

Then, with their hands still intertwined, Iwaizumi gracefully got up.

He truly had a nice ass, Oikawa thought, while being pulled from his incredible few and getting up on his feet as well. Together they walk towards the bedroom, where Iwaizumi took two crutches and some bandages and put them next to the desk. Oikawa searched in his closet for his sewing-box, from which he took two sharp needles and a plastic lid. Then, he walked back to Iwaizumi and with a sigh, he sat down opposite of him.

‘You ready?’ he asked and Iwaizumi gave a small hum in agreement. Reluctantly, he took one of the needles and Oikawa watched, as he stabbed it in his finger.

A small red drop appeared and Iwaizumi let it fall in the plastic lid that Oikawa had placed between them.

‘It is actually really cruel, don’t you think?’ Oikawa said, looking at the drops that fell down one by one. ‘Poking yourself with a needle to find out your soulmate. It’s almost like a blood ritual.’

‘Technically it is a blood ritual,’ Iwaizumi said, counting the fifth drop and then letting Oikawa put a bandage on his bleeding finger. ‘But do you want me to do you?’

Oikawa put his hand in Iwaizumi’s and looked away. Iwa-chan knew him so well. He hated needles, especially when they had to be put through his soft skin. The audacity…

He let out a small ‘ow’ when he felt the needle going through, but other than that, he thought he handled the whole thing pretty well. Iwaizumi pinched five drops out of him, then gently bandaged him too. Now the most painful thing had ended.

While Iwaizumi mixed the drops together, Oikawa took his hand and watched. He had never seen Iwa-chan this terrified, though his hands were more steady than ever. Unlike him, Iwaizumi was someone who stayed calm whenever the pressure around them started to become critical and even though Oikawa admired that most of the time, he knew it could also easily be his downfall. Instead of letting it out, Iwaizumi took all the stress and hurt and put it on himself. It would build up inside of him, until the moment came that it became too much and he had to direct it all somewhere. Over time, Iwaizumi had made big steps in his anger management, yet Oikawa knew that moments like these could be somewhat risky.

Once the mixture was done, Iwaizumi looked up.

‘Alright so, where shall we put it?’

Oikawa lit up.

‘I want you all over my body. Everyone has to see that you’re mine.’

Iwaizumi’s expression became completely blank.

‘Don’t be stupid. That looks ridiculous. Besides, there is not enough for that.’

‘Fine,’ Oikawa said, not really thinking that Iwaizumi would agree in the first place. ‘But it has to be visible. I’m not ashamed of my skin.’

‘Except for when a pimple appears,’ Iwaizumi grumbled and he stood up. ‘Come on, take off your shirt. I know where you will like it.’

‘Oh Iwa-chan, asking me to undress already. How bold of you.’

But Oikawa did what he was told and he got up as well. Ignoring his last comment, Iwaizumi dipped his finger in the mixture and carefully stroked it over Oikawa’s collarbone. It was indeed the second to best place Oikawa had had in mind. The cold of the room and Iwaizumi’s touch made him shiver a bit, but he patiently waited for him to be done.

Then, he walked over to the mirror and looked at the red swipe on his chest. It would look amazing if Iwa-chan’s name would appear right there. It was, without doubt, the perfect spot for everyone to see and he couldn’t have done it better himself.

Turning around with a big smile, he enthusiastically walked back and draped his arms around Iwaizumi’s shoulders.

‘Careful,’ his boyfriend said immediately. ‘You don’t want it to be wiped away.’

‘Aw, Iwa-chan, I love it. Thank you.’ Oikawa kissed his cheek, then quickly let him go. ‘Okay, so now yours. Where do you want it? Same spot? Or something a bit more…exciting?’

‘You’re disgusting.’

‘What? You don’t think I like to see it every time we-’

‘Just get on with it already,’ Iwaizumi interrupted him. He took off his own shirt as well -making Oikawa’s breath get caught in his throat at the sight of his very defined abs- and turned his back to him. ‘On my shoulder will be fine.’

‘Aw, then it’s just like I’m giving you wings. How romantic,’ Oikawa said and he took the plastic lid from the desk.

Like he wouldn’t stop practicing a serve until he perfected it, he didn’t stop stroking Iwaizumi’s shoulder blade until he was completely satisfied with the size. Knowing Iwaizumi, he would absolutely hate it if it got too big, since he was not really someone to show his affection in public, but Oikawa believed it shouldn’t be too small either. Once they were with just the two of them, Iwa-chan actually could be a big sap and that had to be clear as well. 

He ended his work with a soft kiss, then made Iwaizumi turn around. Without them saying anything, Oikawa laid his hand on his boyfriend’s cheek and looked in those beautiful dark eyes that showed the unsaid doubt between them. He wanted to tell him that everything was going to be alright, that he had a good feeling about it and that Iwa-chan would always be his soulmate. He wanted to burn the uncertainty with the heat of their passion and he wanted to fuse together like the whole they had been from the start. Within three hours, they would be bound forever, nothing was going to stop them and they had a bright future ahead of them. Their dark days had come to an end and after all those Disney figurines, now the time had come for their happy ending, Oikawa was completely sure.

Instead of saying it out loud however, he pulled Iwaizumi closer for a kiss so hot, that it melted away all of his other thoughts. Iwaizumi was the only thing on his mind now and from the way that his boyfriend wrapped his arms around him, he knew that it was the other way around as well.

Now they were just two guys, standing half naked in a bedroom and kissing each other like it was their last day on earth.

Those three hours would probably pass by like minutes.

* * *

Since they obviously couldn’t keep standing like this forever, they decided to pass the time by cleaning up the mess they had made over the course of the evening. Iwaizumi was an incredible cook, but the dishes where almost hitting the cupboards and the chaos in the living room could be ascribed to their excitement in their games of Twister. Overall, there probably was enough to do for at least an hour.

Singing loudly to the tunes of Christina Aguilera’s ‘’Candyman’’, Oikawa loaded the dirty dishes in the dishwasher with occasionally bursting out in a quick dance. When he noticed he was being watched, he started moving so extravagant, that Iwaizumi couldn’t help but start laughing. He continued until the plates almost slipped through his fingers and Iwaizumi told him to be careful. Oikawa could tell his tactics to make him less worried hadn’t worked as well as he had hoped, so for once he didn’t ask Iwaizumi if he was his mum for being so protective over him.

Once the apartment wasn’t much messier than it had been at the beginning of the evening and Oikawa started noticing Iwaizumi’s glance every time he walked passed the mirror, he put down last of the dishes that he had wanted to do by hand, and he suggested that they finished the movie that had been on pause until now. He hadn’t felt any tinkling or anything yet, but since the test wasn’t something that people often talked openly about, he didn’t know if that was what was supposed to happen anyway. Thus, he wasn’t worried. He just had to distract Iwaizumi until those three hours were up.

However, that wasn’t as easy as he thought it would be, because after approximately fifteen minutes of resuming the movie, he fell asleep.

The moment he woke up, his eyes darted towards the clock and he realised Iwaizumi wasn’t sitting next to him anymore. It was almost four o’clock now and it had been a long time since the movie had come to an end. 

The empty place next to him on the couch felt cold and way too big.

Immediately, he got up and he walked towards the only place he knew he could be apart from the living room. There, he found Iwaizumi sitting on the bed, his fingers intertwined and staring at the dark carpet, and despite the room being quite dark, Oikawa could make out that he was still in his clothes from the day before. He could make a good guess of how long he had been sitting like this.

‘Hey,’ he said to do something to break the silence.

Because Iwaizumi didn’t look up, he sat down next to him and put an arm around his boyfriends shoulder.

At the feeling of his touch, Iwaizumi finally came back to reality and with the speed of a reflex, he wriggled so that Oikawa was forced to drop his arms.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘It’s not there, Oikawa.’

‘What?’

Immediately, Oikawa sprung up and pulled down his collar in the mirror. There was indeed nothing. No letters. No mark. Nothing.

Not even a single drop of blood.

There was nothing left, his skin was as clear as it has ever been and one look at Iwaizumi told him that it was the same for him. Something inside of Oikawa popped like a balloon and he could feel himself crashing down to earth. Or maybe it was hell. Instead of in the clouds, apparently they had been on earth all along and now he was dragged into the deepest and darkest corners ever to exist.

He couldn’t believe it. It had been clear as day. They had been _made_ for each other. This was their fairy tale, not just some random ass play in which they had pretended to be in love. He loved Iwaizumi and he was still a hundred percent sure that Iwaizumi loved him too. Never before had Iwaizumi opened himself up as much as he had done with him, so that must have been enough reason for them to belong together, right?

‘I don’t understand,’ he said confused and looking at Iwaizumi as if he held all the answers. ‘I was so…sure. How is this possible? Do we have the right day? The right time? Shouldn’t we have done it a bit later, at the exact moment of our first kiss?’

‘Oikawa,’ Iwaizumi tried to cut him off. ‘It is the right day and we did it at the right time. We did everything right.’

Oikawa crossed his arms and in a few steps he was standing in front of Iwaizumi again. He was mad at him for giving up so soon. Clearly, something must have gone wrong. If it wasn’t the day or time, it must have been something in the test itself and it was cowardly to not retrace every step they had taken.

‘How can you say that so easily? We have always been the prince William and Kate Middleton of literally every school we attended together. You can’t just ignore that.’

Iwaizumi looked at him with an expressionless face and in an instant, Oikawa knew that he had pulled up his walls again. He was shutting him out, which only could mean one thing. One thing that Oikawa had always prayed for him never to say out loud.

‘I’m not ignoring that, but the marks do not lie. This is exactly their purpose. You’re not my soulmate, Oikawa.’

‘B-but,’ Oikawa stammered, hopelessly searching for words that could contradict everything they had believed about the whole marking system. ‘Why do we need some stupid marks, if it has always felt right for us? Didn’t it feel like that for you? Were you not happy?’

‘Of course I was happy. Goddammit, Oikawa, don’t you dare suggest to me that this is my fault. I’m not pointing any fingers either, I just know that these marks are the only things that can tell us something about our future. Just because something feels right now, doesn’t mean it will forever.’ Iwaizumi took Oikawa’s hand and pressed his lips against them. The absence of his tears, made Oikawa’s heart shatter into even smaller pieces.

‘I honestly will never be able to tell you how grateful I am for these past years. You’re my best friend and I want it to stay that way.’

‘Iwa-chan, no,’ Oikawa said with more anger than he had intended. He pulled back his arm. ‘You’re not going to break up with me over some stupid mark, you hear? I can’t imagine my life without you and I never will. We’re gonna stay together and we will figure it out when the time comes, just like we’ve always done.’

‘I need time, Tooru.’

His first name.

He had the audacity to use his first name like that. What was he, some fucking sadist? Oikawa had to keep himself from slapping him in the face. This was not the Iwaizumi he knew. This was just some Iwaizumi, not his Iwa-chan who would never hurt him by suggesting something like this. This couldn´t be anything other than a monster.

Though he was aware of the fact that he had to be careful if he wanted to see his Iwa-chan ever again.

‘Where will you go then?’ he said, while repressing as much anger as he was capable of.

Iwaizumi took a step back and put his hands in the pockets of his jeans. Even in the dark Oikawa could see that he was not looking him in the eye.

‘I’m sure Mattsun would let me crash at his place for a while.’

‘Even now that the suns almost up?’

Hesitantly, Iwaizumi took a few seconds to answer that. Then, he walked away, giving Oikawa only a soft pat on his shoulder. In the door he turned around.

‘I’ll sleep on the couch tonight.’

And with that he left, leaving Oikawa feeling like someone just cut off one of his limbs. Though, somehow this was way more painful.

* * *

The true meaning of Iwaizumi’s decision only became clear the next morning, when Oikawa woke up by the empty feeling that comes with being used to have someone lying next to you, only to find that the house was completely deserted. The couch was abandoned and thereby implied that Iwaizumi must have gotten even less sleep than Oikawa had. Knowing him, he probably hadn’t slept at all.

In the hours that Oikawa had lied awake, he had eventually been able to process what exactly had happened. Not that there was actually a lot to process; their marks hadn’t appeared and Iwaizumi had been too scared to throw all his cautious in the wind and follow his heart. But Oikawa didn’t believe that it had been because Iwaizumi didn’t love him anymore. He didn’t want to believe it and besides, he had known his friend for a long time. Whenever Iwaizumi wanted to protect him, he always found ways to make himself disappear, either emotionally or all together.

Maybe the worst part was that Oikawa understood why he had left. There was no doubt or uncertainty to give him hope that there was still something he could do to fix this, because it wasn’t his fault. At this point, Iwaizumi was in all likelihood blaming the shit out of himself, since it had entirely been his own choice to choose Oikawa over the ties with his family, and that’s why Oikawa was completely powerless. Besides waiting and hoping to hear the key in the lock, he was forced to be devoured by a silence that had more volume than Iwaizumi blasting his metal songs over the boxes.

Knowing that it would be better for him to maintain a routine, Oikawa made himself some breakfast. However, he wasn’t hungry at all and thus he ended up scrolling through his phone for an hour with some cold scrambled eggs next to him.

He was not sure whether to send Iwaizumi a text message or not. On the one hand, Iwaizumi had just disappeared without saying a word and Oikawa didn’t even know for sure that he had a place to stay tonight. He would truly hate it if Iwaizumi felt obligated to spend the night on a bench outside, only because he had said that he wouldn’t come home tonight.

On the other hand, Iwaizumi had made clear that he needed time and mostly space, and Oikawa didn’t want to be the boyfriend that couldn’t be even an hour without his significant other. A text from him was perhaps the last thing Iwaizumi wished to deal with right now.

Though in the end, his worries defeated his insecurity and he quickly went to his messenger app, before he got the time to crawl back. Iwaizumi’s picture of Oikawa poking his cheek, was pinned above all other chats and stared back at him with a glare so sharp, that Oikawa felt his heart being stabbed for the millionth time that day. He really couldn’t believe that not five hours ago, they still had been under the illusion that the world was at their feet. Although, looking back on that now, maybe he had been way too optimistic in the first place.

Without actually breathing, he opened their chat and after seeing that Iwaizumi had been online not three minutes ago, he started typing. He needed a few tries to find the right words.

[ShittyKawa <3]: I just need to know if you’re safe.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t Iwaizumi who eventually answered. Following a few minutes filled with nerves as if he was still waiting on a reply from his quite recent lover, Oikawa sprung up at some continuous vibrating of his phone and he saw a few messages from Mattsun coming in.

[Mattsun]: He is, Oikawa

[Mattsun]: I’m sorry about what happened

[Mattsun]: but don’t worry

[Mattsun]: I’ll take care of him

[Mattsun]: until he’s ready

…

[Shittykawa <3]: Thank you.

With a sigh, Oikawa put his phone down and he ran his hands through his hair. He was supposed to go to training today. That was the only reason why he had been able to climb out of bed anyway, but honestly, every muscle in his body told him to go back again. He was exhausted and he wanted to wake up from this nightmare that seemed to last like an eternity. Every second, every realisation of Iwaizumi not going to walk into the room in his Godzilla t-shirt and Oikawa’s pink fluffy slippers, stinged like a human sized bee.

Although, maybe it wasn’t even such a bad idea to go. He had no idea if he was able to pretend like everything was okay, but everything in their apartment reminded him of Iwaizumi and it was suffocating him. If he went out, perhaps he was able to breathe a little . Even if it was only for a little while, getting to stop this repeating cycle of the thoughts racing through his head, would be more than worth it. Normally, he was the one bringing out the full potential of his spikers and thereby lifting up the spirit of the whole team. Today, Oikawa thought, it was time for them to repay their debt and maybe with their unusual simple-minded being, that owl, chibby-chan and Tsumtsum were the excellent candidates for that.

Thus, after he forced a big smile on his face, he changed into his sportswear and he left the house without looking back.

‘Oiky-babes,’ Miya Atsumu said while walking towards him with a big smirk on his face. ‘You look like you’ve had a wild night. Congrats on your banging anniversary.’

Before Oikawa could stop him, he embraced him with incredible strength and even lifted him from the ground a bit.

Immediately, Oikawa cursed at himself for being such a show-off when it had come down to his anniversary. Of course he had thought the marks would appear and of course he had felt the need to tell everyone on the MSBY Black Jackals team until they had been absolutely sick of hearing it time and time again. Apparently, fate decided to work against him now, because Tsumtsum was the third to bring the topic up again, so think that he had actually believed to be distracted this training, had actually been really stupid.

‘Yeah, thanks,’ he said, while being put back on the ground again. Atsumu ruffled through his hair once more.

‘I’m surprised you’re even able to walk. On a scale of one to ten, how bad is the pain right now?’

‘Twenty,’ Oikawa said, though he obviously wasn’t talking about physical pain. It was a bit dramatic, he knew, but the team would find out soon enough if they noticed Iwaizumi not coming to pick him up more than once.

Still, he would deal with that once the time came. No need to think about that now.

Atsumu grinned widely.

‘That’s how I like to hear it. You’re a queen, you know that? I mean, nobody defeats my Omi Omi, but I’m totally rooting for you. You will crown me godfather if you ever take kids right?’

‘Of course, just so they can become just as chaotic as you.’

Oikawa forced a smile and Atsumu burst out in loud laughter.

‘Bwuahaha, I think ZumZum will pull his hair out if those kids become a mixture of our fabulosity. Serves him exactly right, actually. Hey, show me your mark please. Where is it? I see ZumZum didn’t agree with his name on your whole body.’

Avoiding Atsumu’s attempt to pull up the hem of his shirt, Oikawa quickly took a few steps back and he could feel his face going red.

‘I’m not going to start stripping here, Tsumtsum,’ he said after seeing Atsumu’s questionable expression. ‘Coach is watching and he already told me I’ll be benched for a week if he sees me, in his words, ‘‘showing off’’ again.’

He hoped it was enough. Atsumu was different than Bokuto or Chibby-chan. Even though most people would get the same vibe from them upon first meeting them, Atsumu actually had a brain somewhere beneath all that stupidity. They weren’t that much different from each other and maybe that was exactly why they got along so well. Next to his former Aoba Johsai team members and Iwaizumi in particular, Tsumtsum was probably his best friend.

So it was either this in combination with the believe that Oikawa would tell him what was wrong if he wanted to, or he just hadn’t noticed the tension in the first place, but Atsumu grinned and gave him a small wink.

‘I like your thinking, Oiky. I mean, it’s probably the only painless tattoo that you’ll ever get, right? Though I doubt my Omi Omi would let me if I suggested it. But you’d be surprised to know how dirty he can be. You know what they say right, wary on the streets, sexy in the sheets? Ugh, I love him so much.’

Atsumu let out a longingly sigh, while they both looked at Sakusa, who was doing passing drills with Hinata. Unlike the other people in the gym, they were the only ones actually doing something volleyball-related during their breaktime. Even their coaches seemed to be talking and laughing about something off topic.

‘We have the best sex, I’ll tell you.’

‘Then how come you’re still able to walk,’ Oikawa teased, which changed Atsumu’s expression as if he’d just been hit in the face.

‘Who said I was a bottom?’

With a faint smile, Oikawa patted him on the back.

‘You, just now. Wary on the streets, but apparently that disappears once you’re under the covers.’

‘That still doesn’t have to mean anything!’

‘Yes, it does, but don’t worry. You’re part of the Power-Bottoms now. Wear the name with pride. We the bad bitches, if you know what I mean.’

At this, Atsumu glowed up and his usual smirk returned to his face.

Their conversation was cut off however, when one of their coaches announced that breaktime was over and they should get their lazy asses over to the net. So with an arm draped around his shoulders, Atsumu pulled Oikawa from their place on the vault and they added themselves to the rest of the team. Even if Atsumu hadn’t known that something weighed on his mind, Oikawa was glad he had such a good friend.

* * *

Still, the moment he came home, it all crashed back into him. It was like had seen the train coming from a mile distance, yet he hadn’t been able to move out of the way. Thus, he fell down on the couch with the memories of laying there next to or on top of Iwaizumi burned into his memories. He hadn’t even taken a shower or anything, but now that he had no meeting or anything in prospect, he allowed himself to drop the façade.

He wasn’t fine at all and anyone who had thought otherwise, had not been paying close attention to him. Sadly, that was most of the people he had met during the day. He felt like he had been trying to keep the cracks together all day and now that he was alone, he finally gave up pretending that they could still be fixed.

All the pieces fell apart and he didn’t have the motivation to pick them up again. Was there even hope to begin with? Those stupid fucking marks had ruined everything. They had been happy, absolutely fine, completely in love and then that horrible test came along and had ripped them apart. How many couples had been broken up over something so minor? They were not soulmates, so what? That was for them to figure out, not for some higher power called fate.

It was just fucking cruel to steal that power from them.

Slowly, Oikawa started crying until he was eventually fully sobbing. In pairs the tears streamed from his eyes and he had great difficulty in catching his breath. His chest was hurting so much that he wasn’t able to tell anymore if that was because of the lack of oxygen or just the hurt from Iwaizumi’s absence.

He missed his Iwa-chan sitting next to him, softly stroking his arm and asking him what was wrong. He wanted to bury his face in his strong neck feeling his coarse stubbles because he always forgot to shave, and say that he could never leave again. Iwaizumi was his world and without it, he felt like he was just pointlessly floating through space.

Was there even a point to this? Probably both of them felt like shit and that was for what? Making them ‘‘emotionally stronger’’?

Iwaizumi’s presence was what made him stronger, not his absence. They had been together longer than he was able to remember. Without Iwaizumi, Oikawa felt weaker than ever. Even when they had been utterly defeated by Shiratorizawa during their high school days, Iwaizumi had been there to lift up his spirits enough for him wanting to get out of bed in the morning. Actually in the end, it had always been Iwaizumi that had learned him never to give up.

His phone rang and even though he really did not feel like talking right now, the image of Makki convinced him enough not to ignore it. Mattsun and Makki were the only other persons Oikawa knew who had taken the test without having a mark appear on their skin. Back in high school, they had been pretty chill about it, not really caring much about the outcomes of the test anyway, but Oikawa was sure that they were perhaps the only persons who knew exactly what he was going through.

Besides, after almost four years, they were still together.

‘Hm,’ he said when he had put his phone on speaker and just turned on his side to be able to talk into his microphone.

‘Oi Hanger, you sound completely dead,’ Hanamaki said on the other side. Oikawa felt no energy to defend himself against the nickname that Makki had been using for years now. It was not like he was going to stop using it anyway.

‘Dead and buried, thank you very much,’ Oikawa said in a muffled voice, after which a short silence followed.

Then, Makki suddenly sounded way less teasing.

‘I’m sorry about what happened.’

‘How is he?’

‘As well as could be expected.’

‘Which means?’ Oikawa bit his lip and slowly started regretting asking that question. Was it even his place to know how his Iwa-chan was doing? Was it even still his Iwa-chan or did he have to use Iwaizumi from now on? It was all so unclear and he had no idea how to deal with that. Of all the things he learned at school, no one had even taught him about a situation like this.

‘Which means he stole our pyjama’s and hangs on the couch all day. We forced him to go outside for a run to try and clear his head a bit, but he never said if it worked or not. In fact, he doesn’t really say anything.’

‘Do you want me to bring some clothes over? We don’t have to meet up if he doesn’t want to see me.’

‘No, I think it’s okay,’ Makki quickly said. ‘We do not mind having him here and Mattsun always gives me pyjama’s for literally any occasion anyway. After five years, I sure have enough of them.

But how are you doing? Are you managing a bit?’

‘As well as could be expected,’ Oikawa repeated, since there truly were no better words to describe what he was going through. Besides, he didn’t want to be too complaining about something that rooted so deeply. His Iwa-chan was the only person allowed to hear that.

‘Try taking care of yourself, because you do not gain anything by starving or being sleep-deprived. I know it’s hard, but I’m sure Iwaizumi would want me to say that to you.’

‘I’ll try.’

On the other end of the line, Oikawa could hear Makki clearing his throat as if he was actually going to say something else, but didn’t really know how to. He took his time, before speaking up again.

‘Do you…know what you’re going to do now?’

‘Playing sad songs and bawling my eyes out for the rest of the day, probably.’

‘And with Iwaizumi?’ Makki’s voice was a bit uncertain, though Oikawa had no idea what to say to this.

‘What do you mean?’ he asked, running a hand through his hair and sighing deeply.

‘Well, all I know is that Iwaizumi is here because he needed space. But what do you need? Are you going to let him make the calls or you know, try to convince him otherwise?’

‘I think Iwaizumi really needs his space to think about the future. I haven’t even done that myself. It’s not even been a day, you know.’

‘Yes,’ Makki said, sounding like he was thinking deeply. ‘you’re right about that and I think that a break would be good for the both of you. But there comes a point in which a decision has to be taken. It can be in days, maybe even weeks, but you have to be ready when it comes. Know what you want and asking about what he wants, that kind of stuff.’

‘I can’t just force him to be in a relationship with me when we’re clearly not soulmates,’ Oikawa said with a lump in his throat. This was the first time he had said it out loud himself and he had said it like he had realised it all along, though he felt completely the opposite. Because it had come out of his own mouth, the truth hit him even harder than it had before.

‘True,’ Hanamaki said, pulling Oikawa from his thoughts again. ‘but that’s only if he doesn’t want to and there is only one way to find that out. Besides, it’s not like you don’t have a say in it at all. This is your relationship, not Iwaizumi’s.’

‘What can I do then?’

‘You can try to tell him how you feel, what you want.’

‘I already did that and look where we are now.’

Patiently, Hanamaki hummed in agreement.

‘At a moment you were both surprised by the turn of events, yes. If you decide to do it, you can prepare yourself. Find the right words to say exactly what you want to say, so that when you look back on it, you won’t regret your choice of words.’

‘I don’t know if I have the power to convince him, though,’ Oikawa said. ‘He’s so…stubborn.’

Surprisingly, he could hear Hanamaki burst out in a short laughter. A bit hurt, Oikawa was on the point of giving him a piece of his mind because he had been completely serious in sharing his doubts, when Makki quickly explained.

‘Oikawa, you’ve literally been the only one able to convince Iwaizumi to do things these past years. You really think he would pick one of us up from the mall when the rain is pouring from the sky? If it hadn’t been for you begging him on your knees, I don’t even think he would have come with us to that karaoke bar the other day. Stop being so dramatic and start believing in how you mean just as much for Iwaizumi as he means for you.’

‘However, the question is if it is enough…’

‘Shut the hell up, Hanger. This is the first time I’ve seen him cry over something other than losing a match and he definitely wouldn’t have done that for just some guy. You got this, gurl. I’m sure of it.’

Oikawa let out a loud groan and he threw his head backwards. The position was uncomfortable as fuck, yet it felt sort of nice to stretch some of his neck muscles.

‘Just as sure as I was about the marks, yeah.’

‘Oikawa.’ Makki sounded serious now. ‘I love you, but I’m not kidding when I say that it’s enough. One more self-pitying comment and I will kick you, no matter the distance between us now. Get up, take a shower -because I can smell you from here- and get you’re shit together. You’re not the one who’s supposed to break right now.’

‘And Iwaizumi is?’ Oikawa said angry and slightly motivated at the same time. He sat up. ‘You just said that this was not just his relationship.’

‘Exactly, so don’t put the saviour of IwaOi only on him. Look, you have a choice here and I want you to know that I’ll support whatever decision you take, because I’m by far the best friend one could wish for. But,’ with a dramatic pause, Makki forced him to pick up his ears. Oikawa had forgotten how annoying his friend could be sometimes. ‘I highly recommend you not to pull a Juliet here.’

‘Makki, I’m not going to end myself.’

‘She doomed their relationship, same thing.’

‘She didn’t know Romeo wasn’t actually dead, so she never chose to doom their love.’

‘Exactly,’ Makki screamed out on the other end of the line. ‘She was unknowing, but she still went through with it and that was what doomed their relationship. If Juliet had known Romeo wasn’t dead, do you think she still would have made that same decision? No, so see this as a tip from a fortune-teller. You have all the information now to make a thoughtful decision.’

Being completely done with this conversation, Oikawa slapped himself in the face and he shook his head.

‘Makki, you’re absolutely mental. Of course I don’t have all the information, because I HAVE NO FUCKING IDEA WHAT I’M DOING!’

For the last part, he leaned in closer to make sure Makki could exactly hear what he was saying.

However, Makki seemed untroubled by his sudden outburst.

‘Honestly though,’ he said as if they had just been talking about something like flowers. ‘when have you ever done that? Okay, outside the court that is. That much I’ll give you credit for. But still, I think my point is clear. You are able to pull just as much strings here as Iwaizumi. Choose wisely and make sure you’ll never regret it.’

* * *

Three days.

That was the time Oikawa set for Iwaizumi to figure it out. Two was too few, four too much, because he knew that every minute he spent waiting, would be absolute torture.

Still, he had to cling on to that little seed of hope that his conversation with Makki had planted, otherwise he would definitely go insane. Life without Iwaizumi was the worst, so even though chances were quite slim of him actually being able to convince Iwaizumi that nothing had been lost yet, he would do everything in his power to make it happen. Only then would he truly be able to say that the outcome was not his fault, because he hated feeling like he could have done more.

Thus, that evening he started writing down everything he wanted to say. Without thinking about how to say it, he let everything out so that a waterfall of words splattered onto the paper, forcing him to occasionally get a new sheet or shake the muscle-ache out of his hand for a few seconds. 

It felt good to let it out. Of course it didn’t work as well as when he would have talked to Iwaizumi in person, but it had its upsides as well, since Iwaizumi probably never would have let him ramble on for this long. Besides, it wasn’t like it wasn’t really a coherent speech, so if he had done it in person, probably both of them wouldn’t have been able to make any sense out of it. He got more and more grateful for the decision to pick up the phone that afternoon.

The next day, they had a small Aoba Johsai reunion in a café not far from Oikawa’s house. It had been Makki who had set this up, though those who had been able to come on such a short notice, had not been enlightened on the fact that the real reason for this get-together was to help Oikawa through the day. Besides, when someone would ask where the other two former third-years had run off too, it was Makki who quickly told them that Mattsun had dragged Iwaizumi off to some event to do some ‘‘bro’’-stuff together. 

At this, Yahaba had laughed out loud and said that he probably couldn’t be alone for a day and that he had organised this meeting because of that. Since everyone still remembered how devoted Makki could be to talking with other people, the rest had laughed as well, while Makki happily took the downfall. Oikawa didn’t know how he could have deserved a friend like this, but he made a mental note to properly thank Makki once they were alone again.

In the meantime, however, Oikawa tried to not let his thoughts drift off to Iwaizumi too much. Especially now that they were together with most of the regulars during Aoba Johsais flourishing, he missed the ace that had caused them to win many matches. Without him, it felt off. He hadn’t exaggerated when he said that they had been the Kate Middleton and Prince Harry of Aoba Johsai. Some benched first years had often called them ‘‘the duo that could not be reckoned with’’ or ‘‘Aoba Johsai’s powercouple’’. Whenever they had to play two on two matches in training, they had been hated and feared by everyone who had to play against them- or so he liked to believe.

He didn’t understand how they could not have been crowned Prom King and Queen. Not that there was a prom to begin with, but still, he was offended. They should have started that tradition, solemnly for them to be the Royals of the evening. Iwaizumi would have looked so handsome in a suit. It wasn’t often, but when Iwaizumi had accompanied him to the funeral of his grandfather, where they both had spend lots of Wednesday afternoons, Oikawa had had trouble concentrating on the road with someone so beautiful sitting next to him in the car. He might have a slight kink for suits…

The third and last day was completely spend perfecting his speech. He almost felt like he was writing a speech for the emperor, though this was maybe even more important. He only had one chance, so it had to be perfect. Time and time again, he read the paper in his head, out loud, he sang it, he remembered it. In the moment of truth, he would perhaps be too nervous to recall the words, so he decided to take the hard-copy with him as well, but he wanted to put as much passion and truth in it as possible and that would be easier if he already knew the words by heart.

When the next morning finally came, the first thing he did, was send Iwaizumi a text with the announcement that he was going to pick him up in two hours regardless whether he wanted or not. Then, he read his speech one last time, while forcing some breakfast into him, and he took a shower to make himself look as slick as possible (of course that shouldn’t matter to Iwaizumi, but it still couldn’t hurt).

He couldn’t help but actually feel quite nervous, like when they went on their first official date together. It was stupid and he knew that, whatever the outcome, it would make him laugh in the future, yet it was better than feeling as bad as he had done the past days. At least now he would finally get some clarity. Sort of hanging on while also hurting because he missed his best friend, was annoying in its own way. Of course, he hoped for the best, but he realised that he’d rather just wanted to know what was going on inside of his big grump. He wanted to know where he stood and where they could go from now. Only then could he probably find some closure.

Although when he arrived at Makki’s house feeling like he was going to throw up his insides any second, it wasn’t Iwaizumi who opened the door.

‘Hello, sunshine,’ Mattsun said, grinning widely and leaning casually against the doorframe. Oikawa forced a smile through his nerves.

‘Hi, can I come inside for a bit?’

‘YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!!’

Surprised, Oikawa watched as Mattsun did a weak-ass imitation of Gandalf, followed by a couple of seconds of full silence. He realised that Makki probably would have found it hilarious. He himself, on the other hand, realised that this was probably why those two were practically made for each other. Outside the court, there was no reading them at all. 

‘Why not?’ he finally asked, still processing what just had happened.

Mattsun ran a hand through his hair.

‘Because he’s not here.’

‘Then where is he?’

‘Somewhere else.’

‘And that is?’

‘Not here.’

‘MATTSUN!’ From somewhere behind him in the hall, Makki’s voice sounded, and crawling on his hands and knees, he appeared between Mattsun’s legs like a cat. At this point, Oikawa didn’t question it anymore.

‘He’s at the park,’ Makki said, ignoring Mattsun’s attempt to use him as a chair. ‘He asked us to tell you. Run, Oikawa, run. Rescue your Romeo before it’s too late.’

‘Thanks,’ Oikawa said and after a short nod, he started running. If Iwaizumi was indeed waiting for him, he didn’t want to make him wait any longer.

The closer he got, the more nervous he became as well. He hadn’t even realised that maybe he had forced Iwaizumi to make a decision without giving him enough time to think about what had happened. What if he said he wanted to break up, only because there wasn’t enough time to see that what they had, was something undefeatable? Hasty decisions led to playing it safe and in this case, playing safe meant not to choose Oikawa over his own doubts. They were not soulmates, so there must be someone else waiting out there for a happy life with his boyfriend.

Just the thought of that, hurt Oikawa more than he had anticipated, thus he picked up his pace and didn’t stop to think until he reached the gates to the park. Immediately, as if they were mentally linked, he could see Iwaizumi sitting in the grass under one of the trees. He sat on a big blanket, staring out to the pond in front of him and looking as grumpy as ever. Oikawa didn’t know if that was a good sign or not, but suddenly, he had to fight every urge to sneak up on him.

Instead, he just walked towards him, slow and steady so Iwaizumi could see him coming. 

He gave him a faint smile when he eventually did.

‘Hey,’ he said sort of shyly. ‘Thank you for coming.’

Oikawa, who still was a bit out of breath, returned the smile and he sat down next to him, both with their faces towards the water. He didn’t know what it was, but there was a tension between them that he could not exactly explain. It was neither positive nor negative, it was just there and it wasn’t something he felt okay to deal with. He just really hoped that it would disappear soon.

‘This seemed like a good spot,’ Iwaizumi continued. ‘I thought we would have a bit more privacy than at Mattsun’s. Not to complain, but how they interact with each other is beyond imagining. I kind of needed a break.’

‘I think I have a pretty good idea,’ Oikawa said, pushing away the image of Mattsun sitting on Makki like he’s riding a horse.

Not wanting to risk taking Iwaizumi’s hand too early, Oikawa curled up his legs and took his letter from his pocket.

‘I wrote something,’ he said, opening the envelope and unfolding the paper. ‘So if you let me, I want to read it to you.’

At this, Iwaizumi reached into the pocket of his own jacket and pulled out his own envelope as well. Oikawa looked at it in astonishment. That envelope probably held the answers to all his questions.

‘I feel it’s some sort of set up.’

Iwaizumi nodded silently, then gestured towards Oikawa that he could start. So after Oikawa nervously cleared his throat, he started reading. With all the passion and love that he could summon in that single moment, he let the words flow out of his mouth, while he occasionally looked into Iwaizumi’s eyes.

He was terrified. Never before had he been this vulnerable with anybody, not even with Iwaizumi, and it scared the shit out of him. He literally provided Iwaizumi with the power to either cherish him as a whole or break him down completely. Was it stupid or was this what love was supposed to be? Surrendering yourself all together, in the hope that he would care for it and love it like it was part of his own?

Iwaizumi’s expression stayed blank the entire time, though Oikawa hadn’t hoped for anything else. Whenever Iwaizumi was truly angry, not just the daily annoyances, he would squint his eyes and it would seem like he could kill with just a single look. Now, however, his face was somewhat relaxed and he knew he was just listening to what was being said.

For now, that was enough.

Once he was done, he slowly folded the paper again and he let his last words resonate between them for a while. He didn’t want to speak first. It was now up to Iwaizumi to give his reaction.

‘Thank you,’ he eventually said, absent-mindedly looking at the envelope between his own fingers. Undoubtedly, there were a million things racing through his mind right now. ‘I really appreciate you being so honest with me.’

‘But?’ Oikawa said since he had this feeling that there was one coming. Iwaizumi looked at him and smiled.

‘Not really a but, but I don’t think that mine is just as poetic as yours.’

‘There’s only one way to find out.’

Softly, Iwaizumi hummed in agreement and unwrapped his own text.

‘It feels like we’re exchanging vows,’ he said, making Oikawa smile through the anxiety in his chest. There was a time in which he had imagined absorbing every word of Iwa-chan’s promise to love him forever like drinking a glass of water after an exhausting training. Before, whenever he would think about that, he would think that it would be one of the most happy moments in his life and he would feel the excitement already washing over him.

He just really hoped that that future had not been lost yet.

After taking a big breath, Iwaizumi started reading. The paper was shaking between his trembling fingers and Oikawa could see a small frown appear between his eyebrows. He sure was trying his best.

‘Shittykawa, I don’t know how many times I’ve called you that now. But I want you to know that I don’t think you’re as shitty as I make you out to be. This sucks and I know that, but just trust me when I say that the last six attempts were even worse. In the first one I compared you to an elephant and believe it or not, I was actually trying to complement you. It was something about how you always pound into the room, but somewhere there is still something cute or something.’

Iwaizumi took a break and Oikawa could see his eyes scanning the rest of the paper. He wanted to tell him to continue, even though it was kind of an…unusual speech. It was original and that was what he liked about it. He could definitely see Iwaizumi’s personality in the choice of words.

Though, Iwaizumi grumbled and crumbled the paper together.

‘Fuck this,’ he said, after which he directly looked at Oikawa. The fear in his eyes had disappeared and suddenly Oikawa could recognise his Iwa-chan again.

‘Tooru, I’m sorry,’ he said with power and certainty. ‘Thank you for giving me these past days to think about all of this and thank you for forcing me to stop thinking about it. At some point, you just need to make a decision and I think that this is exactly the right time.’

Oikawa could feel the butterflies starting to flutter inside his stomach again. He tried to repress it since Iwaizumi’s words could still mean anything, but it took him a lot of effort.

‘The marks not appearing, was probably more of a disaster for me than it was for you. I mean, you know I gave up everything to be with you and I want you to know that, knowing what we know now, I wouldn’t have done it any other way. Through you, I have learned so much about myself that I probably wouldn’t have if we hadn’t been friends and eventually lovers. Though I still hate that word, but that’s another story.

These past few days were quite enlightening as well and they answered some questions for me that I didn’t even know I had. I’m actually really glad that you told me that you understand where my reaction was coming from because that makes it a lot easier to say this.’

After a questionable look and Oikawa nodding that it was okay, Iwaizumi took his hand, and with his thumb, he carefully followed the lines of his fingers.

‘You often know people better than sometimes they know themselves, and I’m no exception to that. You’ve always seen my true potential and even outside the court, you know how to make me able to reach it. You know my strengths, my weaknesses, and raise them all together. You taught me about communication and about how loving yourself isn’t something selfish. It’s something healthy and learning how to trust yourself may be one of the most important things in the world. I’m sorry it took me a while to truly believe that.’

‘Iwa-chan,’ Oikawa said, but Iwaizumi softly squished in his fingers and made him shut up instantly. If this continued much longer, they might start crying.

‘When I chose to tell my parents that I was in love with you, I knew what was going to happen. I knew that they would not accept it and I had anticipated that it could result in them throwing me out. I knew all of it and I still told them, because I wanted to love you.

But looking back at that now, I realise that that had been a blind decision. I followed my heart and was prepared to face the consequences if it meant that we were able to be together. This time, however, we, or I, had no idea what would happen if we would ignore the whole marking system and just followed our hearts. If we’re not soulmates, then that means that there is still someone out there for both of us. I don’t want to keep you from that true happiness, but,’ Iwaizumi swallowed and a small tear escaped from the corner of his eyes. ‘I can understand now, that I don’t want to let you go either. I want to be with you, Tooru, for as long as fate will let us. It would kill me if we wouldn’t make the most of the time that we have, even if that would mean that at some point we have to go our separate ways.’

‘You just wanted me to take pity on you with that lame ass excuse about some elephant, didn’t you?’ Oikawa said, smiling through his tears and pointing at Iwaizumi’s first attempt to tell him what had been on his mind.

But he was happy.

Happy and relieved, because even though he had secretly hoped for a good ending, this felt too good to be true. He almost felt like someone was going to wake him up any minute and tell him to stop licking his pillow. Besides, it really sounded like Iwaizumi had never questioned his love for him in the first place, and in a world full of judgments and pretending, hearing that one truly loves you is something quite special.

And he loved Iwaizumi with all his heart.

‘You know how bad I am with words, especially when I have to write them down,’ Iwaizumi said with a faint smile, after which Oikawa finally had the courage to sit a bit closer so that he could lay his head on his shoulder.

Iwaizumi on the other hand, apparently had different plans, because with one arm he pushed Oikawa to sit on his lap and he leaned back so that they could both slowly come down to a laying position. He sighed deeply while stroking his hand through Oikawa’s hair.

‘I’ve missed you, Tooru.’

‘I missed you too,’ Oikawa whispered, trying his best to fight back the tears that were still appearing in his eyes. He got up a bit and stole a kiss from his Iwa-chan, who was more than willing to return the gesture.

Like an immensely cliché happy ending, Oikawa couldn’t contain himself any longer and with Iwaizumi’s head between his hands, he made sure that every inch of his lips would be put to good use. He loved feeling Iwaizumi’s skin beneath him and he loved being able to touch it again. In these past days, Iwaizumi’s absence had felt like missing a limb, and now that it was attached again, it felt more right than ever. No matter what the marking system said, Iwaizumi was his happy ever after, his soulmate, and nothing could make him convince otherwise.

Iwaizumi was his only option.

‘That tickles,’ he said between his kisses because he could feel Iwaizumi softly stroke his fingertips over his body.

At this, Iwaizumi just smiled and kissed him back with more passion than he had ever done. Normally, he wasn’t someone to make out in public like this, but now they were drawn to each other like two magnets that no one could break apart. Three days had been too much, too long, too lonely, so there was only one option to prevent it from happening again. Oikawa didn’t plan on letting him go anymore. Their touches were promises that bound them together, invisible fingers that would always be part of the other so that, wherever they were, they would never be alone because the imprint of the other would be burned into their skin.

There was no doubt anymore, only love and devotion.

‘Iwa-chan, stop it,’ he said, when the tickling got worse and it started distracting him from what really mattered. He wanted to push his hands away, maybe to better places, but before he could do that, Iwaizumi pulled himself back from his lips.

‘Oikawa,’ he said, which made Oikawa finally open his eyes and be mesmerised by his beauty once again. It truly was interesting how the universe could create something so irresistible.

‘I’m not doing anything.’

In an instant, Oikawa realised that he was right. Iwaizumi’s hands were on his middle, far from the place he had felt them. Besides, the tickling hadn’t stopped. He could still feel the soft, almost non-existing, touches that made it hard not to start scrabbing.

‘But I do feel-’

Iwaizumi’s eyes widened, once Oikawa had accidentally pulled on his shirt. He got up and with Oikawa on his lap, he pulled Oikawa’s collar down a bit further. Stunned he let his fingers stroke over his collarbone with the same care as he had done four nights ago.

Oikawa knew that it could only mean one thing.

‘How is this possible?’ he said, confused and not really knowing what else to say. Then, an idea stuck him and he crawled on the blanket. ‘Turn around.’

Iwaizumi did what he was told and not really caring about the few people passing by, he took off his jacket and sweater just enough to reveal his shoulder blades.

Bewildered, Oikawa took in the sight of a small tattoo on the exact place he had performed the ritual.

_Oikawa Tooru_

It was there.

It was absolutely fucking there and there was no doubt possible anymore.

He knew what he saw and it was possibly the best sight Oikawa could have wished for.

‘And?’ Iwaizumi said a bit impatient, which made Oikawa return from his thoughts. He helped Iwaizumi pull down his clothes again, then hugged him from behind and brought his mouth close to his ear. He was happier than he had ever been.

‘I don’t know why, I don’t know how, but we’re the best soulmates on this entire planet,’ he whispered.

Iwaizumi answered by kissing him on the cheek and strengthened his grip on his arms.

‘I love you, Tooru, and I promise I won’t underestimate that again.’

‘You better not, or I’ll make sure you definitely regret it.’

‘Promise?’

Oikawa laughed and threw himself completely on his boyfriend, making them fall over and enabling them to pick up where they had left off.

* * *

‘So everything worked out in the end,’ Oikawa said while walking with Makki through town, a few days after Oikawa was finally able to walk again. Once he and Iwaizumi had gotten back together, he immediately had called his friend to ask if they could meet up, so Oikawa could tell him all about what had happened, and Makki had listened with amusing patience.

A smirk appeared on his face when Oikawa finished his story.

‘How couldn’t it be?’ he said, putting his hands in his pockets.

With their arms intertwined, they strolled past the stores that slowly started opening up. It was getting colder again, making them able to see their breaths appear in front of them and occasionally making them regret not taking a scarf with them.

But Oikawa didn’t mind. Right now, he felt like the whole world could come for him and he would still be able to fight it with a smile on his face. With Iwaizumi by his side, he was invincible.

Surprised, he looked up at Makki.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘Just that I’m surprised you two took three days to figure it out. Though, I can’t say I’m really unhappy about it, because at least now Mattsun will massage my feet for a week.’

‘You two bet on us?’ Oikawa said a bit offended if it had been anyone else. However, this was Makki and thus his expectations were long but ruined.

‘Of course, you’re practically made for each other.’

Oikawa sighed.

‘Well, the marks weren’t as confident at first.’

They politely greeted an older couple that they passed by and then Makki frowned.

‘What do you mean ‘‘the marks’’? They had nothing to do with this.’

‘Of course they had,’ Oikawa exclaimed a bit too loud. ‘It was the whole reason we were in this mess.’

‘But they are influenced by our emotions,’ Makki said. ‘Do you know why it generally takes three hours for the marks to appear?’

Hesitantly, Oikawa shook his head.

‘Because with lots of couples, it takes that time to realise that they really want to be soulmates. Though, there are a lot of couples that deviate from that. With some of them, the mark appears right away, with others, like yourself, it takes a bit longer.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘They are influenced by our emotions. It’s not the marks that tell us that we’re soulmates because if you think about it, how well can a relationship be if two people have to be convinced by a mark to know that they are soulmates? If there is any doubt, they will not appear until it feels completely right.’

‘But Iwa-chan never doubted that he was in love with me?’

‘Being in love with a person is not the same as wanting to spend the rest of your life with someone. You have to know what you’re signing yourself up for and you have to choose it. Only then will true soulmateship, yes that’s a word, show itself.’

Oikawa thought about his words for a moment, before he eventually face-palmed himself and shook his head in disappointment.

‘And you couldn’t have told me this sooner? How do you even know all of this? Unless… of course.’

He turned his head to see a sniggering Makki.

‘OMG HOW COULD YOU NOT HAVE TOLD ME? WHEN DID YOURS APPEAR? HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO HIDE THIS FROM ME I FEEL SO OFFENDED RIGHT NOW!!!!’

Makki let go of him and relaxed he put his hands behind his head.

‘Couple of years, and how could I have told you? You’re not supposed to tell.’ 

‘But I could have seen,’ Oikawa said. ‘How many times haven’t we been changing together? Can you show me?’

‘Well,’ Makki said with a mischievous face. ‘I don’t really think it’s socially acceptable if I start stripping in the middle of the street.’

Oikawa raised a hand to hit him on the shoulder, but Makki avoided his attack by running away. Laughing, he started the pursuit, and even though many people looked at them in annoyance, Oikawa didn’t care.

He got his happy ending and it couldn’t have gotten any better.


End file.
